Voicing outrage: Jurists’ body, Red Cross slam Quetta carnage

Say sanctity of healthcare facilities must be respected at all costs

ISLAMABAD: The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have strongly condemned Monday’s terror attack at a hospital in Quetta.

In a press statement, the ICJ termed the suicide attack which claimed around 70 lives “the deadliest attack ever on lawyers in Pakistan and among the worst anywhere”.



Separately, the ICRC said it was deeply saddened by the horrific attack. “We are shocked to see so many innocent people killed in cold blood today just outside the casualty department of the Civil Hospital in Quetta.

“Hospitals are places where lives are saved — there can be no justification for such horrendous acts. We share the grief and pain of the bereaved families at this difficult time,” said Reto Stocker, head of the ICRC delegation in Pakistan.

Stocker said diminishing respect for hospitals, medical staff and ambulances is at the heart of the ICRC’s concerns globally and in Pakistan.

“The sanctity of healthcare facilities must be respected at all costs. Together with Pakistan’s medical fraternity, the ICRC has been working for the last two years to promote the safety of healthcare services in all circumstances,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2016.